During the coming school year we will be bringing you topical articles addressing a variety of subjects from current events to natural phenomena, history, culture and world geography. Our GNN authors come from a wide range of educational backgrounds and hold a wealth of knowledge on some amazing people, places and things. They'll be using this knowledge to place global news in context. Current events articles with this type of analysis are a great way to make world events relevant to students, helping them to develop geographic literacy and critical thinking skills. We look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions for articles that you would like to see.

The Geo Quiz from PRI's The World challenges your knowledge of people and places, geography and culture. Created by journalists in the newsroom, each Geo Quiz question comes with its own answer, a fascinating report or interview that reveals a mystery location.

Hidden beneath the 245,000 square miles that make up the Great Plains, resides a lake that’s one of our greatest water assets: The Ogallala Aquifer. Haven’t heard of it? Farming the plains would be unprofitable at best without it, as shown by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. At the time, the aquifer’s existence was known, but the technology to tap into it wasn’t. more...

Dean Potter died today doing what he loved in Yosemite National Park. Here is a rerun of an interview we did with Dean last June:Dogs are loyal, brave and love to go wherever their owners do. Climber, BASE jumper and wingsuit flyer Dean Potter took truism to its logical conclusion when he would bring his faithful companion Whisper, an Australian cattle dog, climbing with him throughout Yosemite National Park, which is Potter's backyard playground. For the past decade, he's been perfecting his wingsuit flying abilities and decided to share his love of flying with Whisper, sharing their gravity-defying activities in his new film, "When Dogs Fly".
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

Emoji are the symbols people use to represent emotions and ideas on their cell phones. They show up in tweets on Twitter. They are sprinkled liberally in text messages. They accompany status updates on social media sites like Facebook. There are even keyboard settings devoted wholly to typing emoji. They are like an emerging new... more

This week, we swim from Cuba to Florida, then we dodge danger in Yemen on top of a camel, race on wild horses in North Dakota, and learn the secrets of Australia's roadkill.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week, we hitchhike from Tasmania to London, get a good night's sleep, protect a 300,000 miles of ocean, hike 2,600 miles in winter, and stop forests from burning down.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week two adventurers shed tears at the South Pole and paddle from Australia to New Zealand; then we learn about eradicating malaria, which is responsible for "one half of human deaths since the Stone Age"; pick the perfect beer for all occasions; and learn about the secrets of America by night.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week, we have a close encounter with a moose with a team of dogs; eat moths with bears and salmon brains with wolves; visit China's secret tiger farms; learn the science behind the sunrise; examine the promise of "clean coal".
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week, we find out what is the tallest mountain in Alaska's Brooks Range; swab New York City's subway system to see what bacteria we find; photograph Egypt's revolution and try not to get hurt; discover glow in the dark sharks; and learn about the new fungus that's eating our bananas.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week, we see the world through the eyes of one of Nat Geo's top photographers and hang from a balloon to get the shot; learn that 3 mph is the perfect speed for humans and find the love of foot power; translate chimpanzee's language and learn what they're really talking about (it's food); and learn the real history of the HIV pandemic.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week, we summit North America's tallest mountain alone in January; take photo lessons from one of National Geographic's top photographers; find the world's largest gathering of snakes in an unexpected place; know when to turn around on South Asia's tallest mountain; and celebrate "Carnevale" like an Italian.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

On December 1, 1955, a 42-year old African American woman finished her job as a seamstress in a department store in Montgomery, Alabama. She waited to board the Cleveland Avenue city bus that, although it had taken her home every day, wouldn’t that day. Instead, she would be arrested, providing the spark the Civil Rights Movement needed to rally and demand change. more...

One of the last relics of the Cold War ended on December 17, 2014. U.S. President Barack Obama announced a thawing offoreign relations policy between the United States and Cuba. With this announcement, the Cold War between the United States and former Soviet-controlled communist countries was... more

Do you like visiting the zoo? Many people who like zoos understand that interacting with animals makes our lives better and helps us to understand our world.Ten of our best-loved animals and fun facts about them are here.

This week, we dodge humpbacks and killer whales in a feeding frenzy, climb up a frozen Niagara Falls, explore Mexico's poisonous "snot caves", diagnose the invisible injuries of American war veterans, and visit Iraq and Syria's frigid refugee camps.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week we adventure without preparation on a motorcycle ride from Katmandu to Paris; learn the perks of a photographer's life from the comforts of Los Angeles to the hardships of Mongolia; get abandoned on the summit of Turkey's tallest mountain with a conservation biologist; choose family over glamor and reassess mountaineering risks; and learn about cultures in transition from a nomadic lifestyle to the modern world.
By ngweekend@ngs.org (National Geographic)

This week, we learn whether or not you have to hold your breath while going off a 50-foot waterfall in a kayak, then we talk with a photographer who insists on not visiting exotic locations (and still gets published in Nat Geo Magazine), we learn how to recognize whether your pet is happy or could benefit from some Prozac, and we meet a herd of monkeys who act like horses and have befriended wolves.
By National Geographic

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated,"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live." Arrested over twenty times, stabbed in the chest, his house firebombed and, ultimately shot and killed, King embodied the idea that equality and the African American Civil Rights Movement were worth dying for.He was a husband and father to four children as persecution and death threats filled his days, yet his example was one of nonviolent, civil disobedience.

Miles below the surface of the ocean lies a dark, watery world that humans have only begun to explore. There are mountains, valleys, and animals unlike those found in shallower waters—animals that give off flashes of light or look ferocious.

The battle between the Alamo garrison and Mexican President Santa Anna’s forces reads like a Shakespearian tragedy: greatly outnumbered, all the Texan defenders died. Even the men who surrendered were killed, fueling the outrage and critical mass required to swell the Texan army, become an independent republic, and in time choose to be annexed by the United States...

When people imagine Christmas trees, they picture pines, spruces, or firs. These varieties are the most common ones used as Christmas trees today. Christmas tree varieties are evergreens. They are called this because they stay green during the winter.

On September 3, 1783, the Revolutionary War ended when representatives from the United States and Great Britain met in France to sign the Treaty of Paris. Another four years passed before the first constitution, known as the Articles of Confederation, was replaced by our current Constitution written primarily by James Madison and George Mason. This new Constitution was remarkable: it put in place a government...